The present invention relates to the configuration of devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to configuring multiple devices in a manner that is efficient and cost-effective.
Networked devices, such as routers, hubs, bridges, and even some consumer electronic devices, need to be configured before they can operate satisfactorily in a networked environment. One of the most common methods of configuring a device is through the use of a computer and a browser thereon.
In a typical example, the device to be configured is connected to an Ethernet port on the computer. The user may then turn the computer on and set the computer's IP address to a temporary IP address that the device would recognize. For example, the user may employ a network setting utility in the WINDOWS™ operating system (available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.) to set the static IP address and subnet mask of the computer.
After the computer's IP address is set, the user may then turn on the device and opens a browser of the computer to establish communication with the device. For example, the user may enter into the browser address field the IP address of the device. Note that since there can only be one device on the network with a given IP address, this approach precludes the configuration of multiple devices having the same IP address simultaneously. At any rate, if the correct IP address is entered, a configuration screen for the device would appear, allowing the user to enter configuration parameters for the device. The user may then follow the instructions in the configuration screen(s) to complete the configuration of the device.
Although the aforementioned method is quite popular with users nowadays, such method may not be suitable for large-scale configuration needs. For example, some companies may have a need to configure hundreds or thousands of devices. Although it is possible to employ the previously mentioned technique to configure the devices one-by-one, such an approach is time-consuming and costly.
Furthermore, for devices that do not have an IP address or the appropriate protocol driver to communicate at OSI (Open System Interconnect) layer 3, such device may not be communicate with the computer's browser to begin the configuration process. For these situations, a new approach to configuring devices is needed.